at Wed, 17 Nov 2004 20:52:08 GMT in
>,
(Phyllis) wrote :

>
>"Marge" > wrote in message
roups.com...
>> How much does the recipe ask for? you probably could just leave it
>> out altogether. Maybe add another favorite flavoring of choice.
>> Coconut, almond flavoring, etc.
>
>It is for the choc. truffle pie on the ghirardelli web page. One of my
>daughter inlaws doesn't like anything coffee but I do have some
>nutella. It is just 2 or 3 Tbs. I bet that will work.

You don't need to add anything at all. The filling is simply a pouring
ganache (2:1 cream:chocolate ratio) and the addition of creme de cacao is
somewhat gratuitous (why is it that some people feel a really indulgent
chocolate dessert *must* have some alcohol in it?). In fact, as is (just
the chocolate and cream) the filling will be pretty loose - I'd worry about
it flowing out when you cut the pie. Adding any more liquid is simply going
to make the problem worse.

Sadly, Nutella cannot be recommended because these days they are using
vegetable shortening in it - which means it will affect the texture of a
ganache, giving it a greasy mouthfeel. Cereal Terra, another Italian
company, makes a much better version called "Nocella" (look for it on
http://www.purelyorganic.com) which doesn't have added shortenings, and is
MUCH better in flavour as well - this is one I'd recommend if you were
determined to add something.

But, if you went to the step of adding such a product, you start getting
closer to a gianduja cream pie - and you'd be just as well at that point to
go the whole hog and make exactly that. The idea there is that you'd use
hazelnuts in place of pecans for the crust, and for the filling, instead of
milk chocolate, you'd use gianduja (chocolate mixed with hazelnut paste).
Cuba Venchi makes indisputably the best gianduja in the world - get it from
http://www.chocosphere.com).

Returning to the pie proper, I'd be more confident uppping the ratio of
chocolate to 1:1 for the pie filling. So in this case, you'd use 1 cup
cream, 2 bars (8 oz) chocolate. This will set up definitely firm, so no
problems with flowing fillings. This ratio is my standard for pie fillings
that I've used for years with great success. BTW, I find it's better to
whip cream first until nearly stiff, then gradually beat melted chocolate
in.


--
Alex Rast

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